Is this how we respond to the Lord? My answer would be a resounding – ‘yes’. When we feel a stirring from Him then, sadly, we typically respond by saying that we will get back to Him … later. He, on the other hand, is always ready, now. And to be honest, when we go to Him with our needs and requests, we do expect Him to be available and respond – now, not at a ‘more convenient time’. We do operate on a double standard. I suspect we all put off reading from His word, praying, listening to Him, sharing Him with others, growing in who we are, etc. until a more convenient time. When does this ‘convenient time’ occur? Ever? Do we ever think about Who we are telling to wait on… us?
Granted we all live lives that are cluttered with so many people, things, projects, opportunities, etc. and no, they aren’t all bad, but when we put our time with the Lord into a ‘later’ proposition, then it is. Our problem is that whether or not we realize it, we need Him NOW – regardless of problems or the apparent lack of them. Do the people and things in your life take precedent over time with the Lord? If so… then… is that putting the Lord as a second class consideration in your life. I know that might sound harsh, but that doesn’t make it less true. Think about it. How would you react if your family or best friend(s) continually told you that they’d get back to you later? Hurt? Frustrated? Angry?
Thankfully how we might react to be relegated to ‘a more convenient time’ that might never come is not how the Lord reacts to us. Our coming to Him is too often based on what we need and what we want – our prayers are focused on changing the other people or things in our lives. There is little ‘scheduled’ time that’s for just the Lord. When we do ask for ourselves is it the eternal things we seek to grow in or is it the things of the world? Personally I do not see how it’s possible to live an abundant life if He is not intimately involved in my daily moments.
When you are honest with yourself and really look at your own behavior, do you make time to grow in your walk with the Lord or do you relegate this part of your life to the ‘convenient’ status? Do you know why? I suspect most people are not trying to deliberately be uninterested or unwilling, so what is the ’cause’ or our excuse? Only we can change our attitude and behavior. Only we can choose to make our time with the Lord a priority in our daily schedules.
